Clearing attachment for grain-drills



(No Model.)

W; H. MITCHELL.

CLEARING ATTACHMENT FOR GRAIN DRILLS.

No. 360,322. Patented Mar. 29, 1887.

WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

N PETERS. Hmwmhu m hu. Washington. ac.

UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

XVILLIAM MITCHELL, OF HORSE GAVE, KENTUCKY.

CLEARING ATTACHMENT FOR GRAlN-DRILLS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,322, dated March 29, 1887.

Application filed November 23, 1886. Serial No. 219,689.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,WILLIAM H. MIrcHnLL, of Horse Cave, in the county of Hart and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and Improved Clearing Attachment for Chain Drills, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a clearing attachment for grain-drills, and has for its object to free the shoes of said drills from trash and grass, which greatly impede the progress of the same when utilized for sowing grain upon land abounding in stalks or what is known as crab grass.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan View of a grain-drill having my improvement attached, and Fig. 2 is a central transverse section thereof on the line w in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of aplate employed in connecting my improvement to the drill, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through said connection.

In the application of my improvement to an ordinary drill, A represents the frame of said drill; B, the seed-box; G, inclined carrying-arms hinged to the said frame at the front,

having attached at their lower ends shoes D;

- E, the usual conductor, adapted to convey the grain from the said seed-box to said shoes D, and a the pole.

In ordinary drills four or more hinged carrying-arms and attached shoes are arranged at equidistance upon each side of the pole or draft (6. It is my purpose, therefore, to operate my clearing attachments, one of which is provided each shoe, through the medium of two levers only, each of said attachments being secured to one of said levers, as will be hereinafter set forth.

Upon the face of the forward beam of the frame A, near the ends thereof, I usually secure standards a, and at each side of the pole a, upon the same beam, standards a are fastened, the said standards being adapted to No model.)

form bearings for the longitudinal levers F F, having central angular arms, f f, projecting outward therefrom, whereby the said levers may be conveniently operated by the driver with his feet.

At one side of the hinged carrying-bars 0, either to the right or left thereof, horizontal twisted arms H are fastened at their outer ends to one of the longitudinal levers F F, the inner ends thereof being pivotally attached to a connecting-bar, H, formed of two parallel thin bars spaced and united by a small plate,which connecting-bar is made to extend at an inclination forward to a point near the front longitudinal beam of the frame and to a pivotal connection with a clearing-bar, K. The adjacent ends of the bars K and H are pivoted between the opposite ends of the thin bars which form the connecting-bar H.

Near the center of each hinged carryingbar 0, upon the top thereof, a metal plate, M, is secured, provided with a central cylindrical projection or pin, m, at one end, together with a circular and an elongated aperture in its face. The attachment of the plate M to the carrying-bars C is effected by passing bolts N under said bar, carrying the ends of the said bolts through the apertures in the plate M, and screwing upon the said projecting ends nuts a down to a bearing upon the plate. The purpose of the elongated slot in the plates M is to adapt said plates for use with carrying bars of various widths. The bars 0 are preferably formed of two thin bars, as shown.

The clearing-bars K, pivoted to the connecting-bars H, as shown above, are fulcrumed upon the pins m of the plates M, and the free end of each of said clearing-bars is bent downward and formed with an upward curve, 7;, in order to permit the same to pass readily over obstructions in its path and prevent e11- tanglement with the grass and trash.

1n the use of a drill with my attachment, when the shoes become clogged by grass, trash, stalks, or other refuse matter, the driver presses upon angular arms ff of the levers F F with his feet, which action will cause the entire series of shoes to rise from the ground, the clearing-bars to be simultaneously pressed upon the obstruction, clearing the said shoes of any matter clinging thereto, and while ing-bar, because of its curved formation, will pass readily over the same without becoming entangled.

When the levers F F are released from the pressure upon them, the shoes will drop to the earth again of their own weight, and the clearing-bars will be returned to their normal position, which is elevated to an extent above the surface of its ground. I sometimes, howover, use a spring, XV, attached to the pole and to the levers F F, as shown in Fig. 1, to assist in the return of said clearing-bars; but the said spring may be dispensed with.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

ends k, connecting-bars H, arms H, and ion gitudinal levers F F, provided with outward angular arms ff, substantially as shown and described, whereby the said lever-arms and shoes are operated simultaneously in opposite directions by the drivers feet, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the frame A, the hinged carrying-bars O, and the shoes D of a grain-drill, of thelever-arms K, having curved free ends 7a and fulerumed upon said carryingbars, the connecting-bars H, twisted arms H, and longitudinal levers F F, pivoted upon the forward beam of the frame and provided with outwardly-extended angular arms f f, all arranged to operate substantially as shown and described,and for the purpose'herein set forth.

WVILLIAM H. MITCHELL. l/Vitnessesz JEssE B. 1VIUSTEINS, ISAAC HODGEN. 

